Celebrate the 12 Days of a 17th Century Christmas!

In the 17th Century, Christmas Day was more than just a religious date – it marked the beginning of the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas between Christmas and Epiphany Eve, commonly called ‘Twelfth Night’.

We may know it from the much later song, but for people in Stuart England it was a highlight of the year which had also become a flashpoint in the political and cultural turmoil of the English Civil Wars.

From court masques to riots, from festive recipes to Father Christmas, we’ve covered everything you could want to know about how people celebrated Christmas in the 17th Century – we’ve even answered the old urban myth about Oliver Cromwell banning mince pies!

So pour yourself some Canary, put your feet up in front of the Yule Log, and click on the images below to explore some of the Christmas customs and history from the 1640s and 1650s with our festive Twelve Days of Christmas…